The role of beta-adrenoceptors in exercise-induced muscle hyperaemia was investigated. Exercise was performed with a small and a large muscle mass: knee extension (KE) and bicycle exercise (BE). Seven healthy subjects performed light and maximal KE and eight subjects performed stepwise dynamic BE to exhaustion before and after acute i.v. administration of propranolol (0.15 mg kg-1). Leg blood flow was measured by a bolus dye dilution technique. During KE at low and high power leg blood flow was reduced by 8.7 and 10.5% after propranolol was administered, mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) was reduced at low, but not at high power resulting in increased leg vascular resistance (LVR) during high intensity. During BE propranolol reduced leg blood flow and increased LVR at low power, but not at high power. At high BE intensity LVR did not change with increasing power and was slightly decreased after propranolol was administered. In this situation oxygen uptake was close to maximum and the concentration of catecholamines was 3-5 times higher compared with KE. There was no significant effect of propranolol on lactate release or arterial-femoral venous (a-fv) differences for adrenaline or noradrenaline. We conclude that beta-adrenoceptors modulate local vasodilation in skeletal muscles during exercise independently of local muscle energy demand, but that the effect is highly dependent on active muscle mass since alpha-adrenergic activity during maximal BE seemed to disguise any effect of propranolol on LVR.